Our job is to continue to
inspire western Alaska villagers with inspirational spots and Catholic
programming, to educate and inform them, and to provide respectful
forums like this one discussing solutions.

INSPIRATIONAL SPOT:
Dear God, help me see that this is not just another day. Open my eyes
so I can clearly see the unique promise that this day holds. Open my
mind so I can clearly understand the message and messengers You send my
way. Open my heart so I may lovingly accept the challenges, blessings
and surprises that You so lovingly will provide me today.

FINANCIAL REPORT: For the year ending June 30, 2005, KNOM suffered
a small loss and had to dip into emergency savings to make ends meet.

Our income totaled
$1,013,689, while expenses totaled $1,166,931.

Donations were the source of 96.7% of KNOM’s income.

Interest
on savings accounted for 2.3%, while underwriting of programs, lease of
tower space and everything else contributed 1.0%.

The
mission’s expenses (left) have been relatively steady for the
past several years.

“Fundraising” is our cost of finding new contributors to replace the
approximately 15% of our donors who drop off every year. We are also
trying to increase the number of our donors in order to meet rising
expenses. As a result, this category is a little higher than normal.

“Operating” includes all non-staff related expenses, such as utilities,
fuel oil, supplies, news network and teletype, and so forth.

The
“Staff” category includes salaries, volunteer stipends and food
allowances, air fares for volunteers and the cost of heating and
maintaining the volunteer house.

If you
would like a copy of KNOM’s detailed financial information, or have any
questions, please feel free to contact business manager Lynette Schmidt.

BOOK ‘EM: The first week of December, the
upcoming book of KNOM history was being proofread. The 288-page book
includes 128 photos, 131 inspirational spots, a complete list of KNOM
volunteers since 1966, a list of the station’s many awards, and a
bibliography of articles published on the mission since 1967.

The work
has taken KNOM financial officer Tom Busch much longer than he’d
thought, detailing the many successes and struggles of the oldest
Catholic radio station in the United States.

It’s
titled “Yours for Western Alaska,” after the station’s on-air slogan of
thirty years. “The title was Florence’s idea,” Tom says. “We were all
struggling to come up with a heartfelt title, and she pointed out that
there it was, all the time.”

HAIL TO THE CHIEF: We’re happy to announce that
KNOM general manager Ric Schmidt has been re-elected to a second term as
president of the Alaska Broadcasters Association, the trade group for
radio and TV stations across the state.

STOCK ANSWERS: Some friends of the KNOM mission
choose to give by means of stocks or bonds.

These
can be given to "Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska/KNOM," account
number 3096-0426, Ragen McKenzie, Inc., attention Krista Stamper.

January:
It’s a busy month. KNOM’s Amy Flaherty is in the St. Lawrence Island
village of Savoonga to spread word about a three-day wellness
conference, held in the wake of a rash of suicide attempts by children.

While there, she discovers that the whistling one hears is a form of
Siberian Yupik, the language of the island. The whistling comes as news
to some linguists.

At
the same time, general manager Tom Busch finishes re-wiring interview
Studio C, with the help of volunteer Anna Dummer (left), who assists by working
in hard-to reach places under the counter.

January 18: A two-month murder trial begins, Nome’s most
controversial in a half-century. The judge gives news director Paul
Korchin a front-row seat, and permission to record the proceedings.

February:
(left) Paul Korchin interviews Kani Xulam, the unofficial
representative of the five million Kurdish people, spreading word of
their plight.

March
15: Gale winds rotate an insulator, causing a wire on the KNOM
antenna to burn through, 160 feet above ground. This forces KNOM to
severely lower power during windy periods until repairs May 11th.

March
25: (left) Fr. Mark Hoelsken, SJ offers a Mass of Thanksgiving
prior to the departure of Tom and Florence Busch, who are moving to
Anchorage. It’s a celebration of the many people who have made KNOM
possible over the years.

Florence
has devoted 20 years to the mission, Tom 33, 30 of them as general
manager.

April
12: The couple fly to Anchorage. Tom becomes KNOM’s financial
officer and development director.

Ric
Schmidt, who has been KNOM’s program director for ten years, is elevated
to general manager, and Kelly Brabec (left) rises to program director.
It is a happy and smooth transition.

April
20: (left) In Las Vegas, Ric Schmidt accepts KNOM’s third Crystal
Award for Excellence in Local Achievement. He is flanked by, at left,
National Association of Broadcasters CEO Eddie Fritts, and at right, NAB
board chair Bruce Reese. In his speech, Ric honors KNOM’s many
contributors.

June
13: NAB pays all expenses for Paul Korchin to travel to Washington,
DC for a black-tie dinner honoring local service provided by radio and
TV stations.

June
25: For Tom Busch, it’s a 14-hour visit to Seattle, where Alaska
broadcast pioneer Augie Hiebert, is given a lifetime achievement Emmy
Award.

It was
Augie who supervised KNOM’s application to the FCC in 1968.

July:
Paul Korchin produces a program that is at once powerful, painful,
inspiring and heartening. It features Dennis Gaboury, a victim of
sexual abuse by a priest forty-five years earlier. Gaboury encourages
KNOM listeners to “take the power from the secret.”

August: KNOM’s Amy Flaherty flies 360 miles up the coast to Point
Lay, where Nome audiologist Phil Hofstetter is stuck due to adverse
winds and waves. He eventually gives up his attempt to kayak to Barrow,
his trip designed to raise money and awareness for cancer screening and
treatment.

It’s a
flying month for Amy (above left), who also travels to remote Serpentine Hot
Springs in this helicopter to cover archaeological investigations by the
National Park Service.

August 2:
(Left) Senator Ted Stevens holds a press conference for KNOM and
other media in KNOM Studio C. As Stevens is third in line for the U. S.
Presidency, KNOM is briefly guarded by three Secret Service agents.

(Left)
Visiting from California in August, former chief engineer Les Brown
partitions off the engineering shop to make room for a new editing
studio. Les returns in November to fix miscellaneous gear and inspect
the tower.

September
23: One of the worst storms in the last hundred years is pummeling
Nome. Ric Schmidt flies home from the east coast.

The next day in
Silver Spring, MD, with Ric Schmidt back in Nome, Kelly Brabec represents the station as it receives
its thirteenth Gabriel “Radio Station of the Year” Award.

Two days
later, (left) Tom Busch is in Nome, inspecting the transmitter site’s
generator. The storm has knocked down a quarter-mile of utility poles,
and the generator is keeping the station on the air, running a total of six days.

The only
KNOM casualties of the storm are siding torn off the building, and
the KNOM Christmas star atop the tower, apparently hit by flying debris.

Over
the course of this year, KNOM has broadcast 34,000 inspirational
spots and 34,000 educational ones. We’ve broadcast the Mass and Rosary.

We thank
you for your generosity and your kindness. Without you, this important
work would come to a quick end. Thank you for joining our effort to
inspire the far-flung people of western Alaska, and help them improve
their lives. God bless you!